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By Robert Hoekman, Jr.
November 2004
Pages: 254
ISBN 10: 0-596-00691-8 |
ISBN 13: 9780596006914
(Average of 3 Customer Reviews)
Flash is all about creating unparalleled user experiences and applications for the Web. And this book is all about helping you think outside of the box to get there. Intuitive and user-centric, Flash Out of the Box gets you animating, working with video, loading external assets, drawing, masking, modularizing, and more for developing the foundation you need to move out of the box and into even more advanced techniques.
Full Description
If you believe the sky really is the limit when it comes to creating unparalleled user experiences and applications for the Web--then Macromedia Flash MX is sure to be your tool of choice. With Flash, you can integrate video, text, audio, and graphics into distinctive and compelling web content, stunningly interactive and expressive user interfaces, and rich applications for the Internet.
Flash is all about helping you dramatically enhance the user experience. And Flash Out of the Box is all about helping you think outside of the box to get there--first, by diving into the Flash box and then becoming intimately acquainted with every nook and cranny of it.
In Flash Out of the Box, you'll follow and work with a simple box through a "day in the life" style journey. You'll study, use, abuse, and transform the box as you move through exercises that teach you the basics of Flash, and much more, in an entertaining, unforgettable, task-oriented fashion. You'll learn to animate, work with video, load external assets, draw, mask, modularize, and many other things that will be essential as you move into more advanced techniques with other books. It's just you, Flash, and the box, mastering each technique along the way and adding others in a fashion that will let you practice and learn simultaneously.
Most Flash tutorials you've looked at are tool-centric, focusing on Flash's individual features and how to use them (an approach that can quickly become tedious), whereas this innovative, engaging, and motivating book is uniquely user-centric. That means it concentrates on you and what you want and need to learn. Each successive lesson anticipates and builds upon your needs, capabilities, and questions as you evolve from Flash beginner to Flash master.
Written in a fun and conversational tone, the highly accessible Flash Out of the Box makes learning Flash MX 2004 intuitive, logical, and, most of all, fun.
Browse within this book
Cover | Table of Contents | Colophon
Featured customer reviews
Flash out of the Box, September 13 2006
Rating:
Submitted by
Jackie McNeil
[Respond | View]
I just discovered this fabulous book, and as a new Flash student,
love the style, personality, and genuinely helpful instructions saturating every page. I finished the first chapter, and learned more from that one chapter than I learned from a whole two weeks course with a live instructor! God led me to this book!
I can't wait to complete all the exercises, and will write another review when I finish.
Robert Hoekman, Jr. you are a Godsend! Your charming personality jumps out from every page, yet you're not so "off the wall silly" as in some books that try so hard to be humorous, they forget the purpose of instructing!!! Thanks for this most appealing, inviting and truly helpful book.
No Pandora's Box, October 02 2005
Submitted by Anonymous Reader [Respond | View]
sorry, got ahead of myself. see the second post.
No Pandora's Box, October 02 2005
Rating:
Submitted by
jaspers
[Respond | View]
To say the least, it was a plesant change to have a product that truly lived up to it's claim.
Mr. Hoekman, kudos to you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
In a just a few hours I was able not only to create a flash, but more importantly, truly understand what I was doing.
Mr. Hoekman is the reflection of the addage:
"Feed a man to fish, feed him for a day, TEACH a man to fish, and you feed him for life".
Looking forward to more works by him and checking out prior writings.
JASPERS
No Pandora's Box, October 02 2005
Submitted by jaspers [Respond | View]
Great Introduction to Flash from a design perspective, December 04 2004
Rating:
Submitted by
Mark Jonkman
[Respond | View]
Robert Hoekman Jr. does a fantastic job of covering the topic of designing and working in the Flash authoring environment. His approach to the subject breaks away from the standard dry computer book style of being a brain dump of information. Robert walks you through the drawing tools and techniques in an easy to follow and often humourous fashion. The excercises presented are fairly short but teach a great deal.
I'm a programmer/analyst not so much a designer/artist, so while I've used Flash a great deal over the past number of years, I really only know it well from a programming perspective. When I was asked to be a beta reader/technical reviewer for the book I wasn't sure what to expect. I was immediately captivated by Robert's style and humour. Robert begins by assuming a limited knowledge of Flash and introduces the tools, concepts and methodologies quickly and clearly. Each chapter and excercise building upon the previous ones in a cohesive fashion. At the end of the day, the reader comes away with a solid well rounded perspective on designing with Flash.
I think this book is an excellent introduction to designing in Flash. It is not a programming manual, it does not cover every single technique available to designers and artists. What it does is introduce and familiarize the reader with the Flash IDE, tools and design concepts as well as how to get the most out of Flash from the start. If your new to Flash or new to the art/design side of Flash then this is definitely the book for you and will serve you well and as such I would highly recommend this book to you.
Media reviews
"Clearly and smoothly laid out and sequenced, for Mac or PC, the step-by-step tutorials are accessible and logical buidling blocks towards making your movies soar on the Web."
-- Tony Reveaux, bookscan
"If you want to launch up to speed on Macromedia's Flash MX 2004 development environment, Flash Out of the Box can offer you an EZ Pass to functional familiarity... Clearly and smoothly laid out and sequenced, for Mac or PC, the step-by-step tutorials are accessible and logical building blocks towards making your movies soar on the Web."
--Tony Reveaux, Bookscan, Film/Tape World, May 2005
"Fun and Flash are not usually heard in the same breath, at least not from the mouth of anyone attempting to get to grips with designing web sites and using it for the first time. Yet fun is what's promised and, in our opinion, delivered as well...the book is a joy to read...This is a colourful and fun way to get from newbie to Flash master in the shortest possible time."
--Davey Winder, "PC Plus," March 2005
"A highly recommended tutorial Flash book which outlines best practices and creates logical order of learning progression through hands-on exercises planning when and how to use each feature."
--Diane Donovan, "Midwest Book Review," February 2005
Read all reviews
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"Clearly and smoothly laid out and sequenced, for Mac or PC, the step-by-step tutorials are accessible and logical buidling blocks towards making your movies soar on the Web."
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